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Cumberland River at Williamsburg

Highest listed crest 35.03 ftFlood stage 21.0 ft115 crests since 1951

The Cumberland River at Williamsburg crested at major flood stage 4 times among the 115 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1951 to 2025. The highest, 35.03 ft on April 7, 1977, was major flooding, 14.03 feet above flood stage. 3 other gauges on the Cumberland River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 3 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
35.03 ft
April 7, 1977; 46,600 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
21.0 ft
Major flooding from 32.0 ft
Crests at major
4
26th of 72 gauges in Kentucky
Most recent flood crest
February 18, 2025
31.19 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Whitley County
Kentucky

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Cumberland River at Williamsburg
Action stage17.08Jan 21, 1988The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)21.081Mar 2, 2021Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage27.522Feb 18, 2025Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage32.04Feb 8, 2020Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

115 crests from 1951 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Cumberland River at Williamsburg, 1951 to 2025 152025303540ft Flood stage 21.0 ftMajor 32.0 ft Dec 9, 1951: 22.20 ft, minor flooding; 23,400 cubic feet per secondDec 16, 1951: 22.51 ft, minor flooding; 23,900 cubic feet per secondDec 22, 1951: 21.50 ft, minor flooding; 22,300 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1952: 21.96 ft, minor flooding; 23,000 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1952: 24.91 ft, minor flooding; 28,100 cubic feet per secondMay 20, 1953: 19.25 ft, action stage; 18,800 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1954: 20.38 ft, action stage; 20,500 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1954: 22.46 ft, minor flooding; 23,800 cubic feet per secondMar 19, 1955: 25.91 ft, minor flooding; 29,900 cubic feet per secondMar 23, 1955: 25.83 ft, minor flooding; 29,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1956: 25.79 ft, minor flooding; 29,800 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1956: 21.60 ft, minor flooding; 22,500 cubic feet per secondDec 15, 1956: 21.25 ft, minor flooding; 21,900 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1957: 33.78 ft, major flooding; 49,700 cubic feet per secondNov 20, 1957: 24.76 ft, minor flooding; 27,900 cubic feet per secondDec 9, 1957: 21.04 ft, minor flooding; 21,600 cubic feet per secondApr 30, 1958: 21.18 ft, minor flooding; 21,800 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1958: 23.79 ft, minor flooding; 26,100 cubic feet per secondJan 23, 1959: 24.20 ft, minor flooding; 26,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1961: 21.20 ft, minor flooding; 21,800 cubic feet per secondJan 29, 1962: 21.41 ft, minor flooding; 22,200 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 1962: 27.55 ft, moderate flooding; 33,300 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1962: 22.19 ft, minor flooding; 23,400 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1963: 22.97 ft, minor flooding; 24,600 cubic feet per secondMar 14, 1963: 29.19 ft, moderate flooding; 36,800 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1963: 24.36 ft, minor flooding; 27,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 1964: 18.23 ft, action stage; 17,200 cubic feet per secondJan 11, 1965: 22.17 ft, minor flooding; 23,400 cubic feet per secondMar 27, 1965: 24.53 ft, minor flooding; 27,500 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 1966: 19.69 ft, action stage; 19,400 cubic feet per secondJan 1, 1967: 20.06 ft, action stage; 20,000 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1967: 26.80 ft, minor flooding; 31,800 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1968: 22.47 ft, minor flooding; 23,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 3, 1969: 18.38 ft, action stage; 17,500 cubic feet per secondJan 2, 1970: 29.42 ft, moderate flooding; 37,300 cubic feet per secondApr 29, 1970: 23.16 ft, minor flooding; 25,000 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1971: 22.04 ft, minor flooding; 23,200 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1971: 24.20 ft, minor flooding; 26,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 27, 1972: 21.33 ft, minor flooding; 22,000 cubic feet per secondApr 13, 1972: 22.71 ft, minor flooding; 24,200 cubic feet per secondDec 11, 1972: 27.26 ft, minor flooding; 31,600 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1973: 28.28 ft, moderate flooding; 33,400 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1973: 29.18 ft, moderate flooding; 35,000 cubic feet per secondNov 30, 1973: 31.13 ft, moderate flooding; 38,800 cubic feet per secondDec 27, 1973: 24.26 ft, minor flooding; 26,400 cubic feet per secondJan 12, 1974: 27.22 ft, minor flooding; 31,500 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1974: 21.78 ft, minor flooding; 22,200 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 1975: 34.54 ft, major flooding; 45,600 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1975: 22.25 ft, minor flooding; 22,900 cubic feet per secondMar 31, 1976: 23.44 ft, minor flooding; 24,900 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 1977: 35.03 ft, major flooding; 46,600 cubic feet per secondJan 27, 1978: 23.71 ft, minor flooding; 25,300 cubic feet per secondJan 22, 1979: 22.57 ft, minor flooding; 23,400 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1979: 23.81 ft, minor flooding; 25,500 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1980: 24.56 ft, minor flooding; 26,800 cubic feet per secondJan 5, 1982: 24.58 ft, minor flooding; 27,000 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1983: 18.64 ft, action stage; 17,600 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1984: 31.10 ft, moderate flooding; 38,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1986: 23.16 ft, minor flooding; 24,600 cubic feet per secondJan 21, 1988: 19.95 ft, action stage; 19,500 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 1989: 22.03 ft, minor flooding; 22,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1989: 21.53 ft, minor flooding; 21,900 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 1989: 23.31 ft, minor flooding; 24,800 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1989: 28.00 ft, moderate flooding; 33,100 cubic feet per secondDec 24, 1990: 27.87 ft, moderate flooding; 32,800 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1991: 30.38 ft, moderate flooding; 37,400 cubic feet per secondMar 24, 1991: 24.69 ft, minor flooding; 27,300 cubic feet per secondDec 4, 1991: 28.90 ft, moderate flooding; 34,700 cubic feet per secondMar 25, 1993: 26.10 ft, minor flooding; 29,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 13, 1994: 31.96 ft, moderate flooding; 38,900 cubic feet per secondMar 29, 1994: 28.10 ft, moderate floodingApr 16, 1994: 24.70 ft, minor floodingMay 15, 1995: 21.09 ft, minor flooding; 21,400 cubic feet per secondMar 8, 1996: 22.20 ft, minor floodingMar 4, 1997: 26.04 ft, minor floodingApr 21, 1998: 30.70 ft, moderate floodingApr 5, 2000: 22.60 ft, minor floodingFeb 18, 2001: 21.96 ft, minor floodingJan 26, 2002: 24.75 ft, minor floodingMar 21, 2002: 29.96 ft, moderate floodingFeb 18, 2003: 28.90 ft, moderate flooding; 33,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 23, 2003: 21.16 ft, minor floodingApr 11, 2003: 28.71 ft, moderate floodingFeb 7, 2004: 25.25 ft, minor flooding; 28,255 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2004: 22.42 ft, minor flooding; 23,692 cubic feet per secondSep 18, 2004: 23.99 ft, minor flooding; 26,194 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 2004: 21.63 ft, minor flooding; 22,464 cubic feet per secondDec 10, 2004: 21.28 ft, minor flooding; 21,930 cubic feet per secondJan 8, 2009: 21.16 ft, minor flooding; 21,400 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 2009: 21.67 ft, minor floodingDec 10, 2009: 21.29 ft, minor flooding; 21,600 cubic feet per secondJan 26, 2010: 25.39 ft, minor flooding; 27,800 cubic feet per secondMay 4, 2010: 23.06 ft, minor flooding; 24,300 cubic feet per secondDec 2, 2010: 24.60 ft, minor flooding; 26,600 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 2011: 22.68 ft, minor flooding; 23,700 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2011: 22.42 ft, minor flooding; 23,300 cubic feet per secondMar 7, 2011: 21.87 ft, minor flooding; 22,400 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 2011: 24.24 ft, minor flooding; 26,000 cubic feet per secondNov 30, 2011: 25.84 ft, minor flooding; 28,500 cubic feet per secondMar 10, 2012: 21.30 ft, minor flooding; 21,600 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 2013: 22.32 ft, minor flooding; 23,143 cubic feet per secondFeb 1, 2013: 22.59 ft, minor flooding; 23,546 cubic feet per secondJul 8, 2013: 23.47 ft, minor flooding; 24,871 cubic feet per secondMar 6, 2015: 28.05 ft, moderate flooding; 31,989 cubic feet per secondFeb 17, 2016: 23.48 ft, minor flooding; 24,887 cubic feet per secondApr 25, 2017: 28.38 ft, moderate flooding; 32,512 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 2019: 23.24 ft, minor flooding; 24,432 cubic feet per secondFeb 25, 2019: 28.58 ft, moderate flooding; 32,814 cubic feet per secondFeb 8, 2020: 35.02 ft, major flooding; 45,449 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 2020: 22.57 ft, minor flooding; 23,500 cubic feet per secondApr 14, 2020: 24.88 ft, minor flooding; 27,000 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2020: 23.02 ft, minor flooding; 24,200 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2021: 24.64 ft, minor flooding; 26,669 cubic feet per secondMar 30, 2021: 30.71 ft, moderate flooding; 36,500 cubic feet per secondFeb 18, 2025: 31.19 ft, moderate flooding; 37,359 cubic feet per second Highest, 35.03 ft, Apr 7, 1977 1960197019801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Cumberland River at Williamsburg 1950s: 17 1960s: 11 1970s: 20 20 1980s: 8 1990s: 12 2000s: 15 2010s: 17 2020s: 7 1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.
  3. 13 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 35.00 ft on Mar 31, 1886; 26.80 ft on Jan 31, 1918; 28.50 ft on Dec 26, 1926; 32.70 ft on Mar 25, 1929; 27.00 ft on Jan 1, 1932; 25.00 ft on Mar 13, 1935; and more.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 115 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Cumberland River at Williamsburg
1Apr 7, 197735.03+14.03Major46,600
2Feb 8, 202035.02+14.02Major45,449
3Mar 15, 197534.54+13.54Major45,600
4Jan 31, 195733.78+12.78Major49,700
5Feb 13, 199431.96+10.96Moderate38,900
6Feb 18, 202531.19+10.19Moderate37,359
7Nov 30, 197331.13+10.13Moderate38,800
8May 9, 198431.10+10.10Moderate38,800
9Mar 30, 202130.71+9.71Moderate36,500
10Apr 21, 199830.70+9.70Moderate—
11Feb 21, 199130.38+9.38Moderate37,400
12Mar 21, 200229.96+8.96Moderate—
13Jan 2, 197029.42+8.42Moderate37,300
14Mar 14, 196329.19+8.19Moderate36,800
15May 29, 197329.18+8.18Moderate35,000
16Dec 4, 199128.90+7.90Moderate34,700
17Feb 18, 200328.90+7.90Moderate33,300
18Apr 11, 200328.71+7.71Moderate—
19Feb 25, 201928.58+7.58Moderate32,814
20Apr 25, 201728.38+7.38Moderate32,512
21Mar 18, 197328.28+7.28Moderate33,400
22Mar 29, 199428.10+7.10Moderate—
23Mar 6, 201528.05+7.05Moderate31,989
24Jun 17, 198928.00+7.00Moderate33,100
25Dec 24, 199027.87+6.87Moderate32,800
26Mar 1, 196227.55+6.55Moderate33,300
27Dec 11, 197227.26+6.26Minor31,600
28Jan 12, 197427.22+6.22Minor31,500
29Mar 8, 196726.80+5.80Minor31,800
30Mar 25, 199326.10+5.10Minor29,700
31Mar 4, 199726.04+5.04Minor—
32Mar 19, 195525.91+4.91Minor29,900
33Nov 30, 201125.84+4.84Minor28,500
34Mar 23, 195525.83+4.83Minor29,800
35Feb 19, 195625.79+4.79Minor29,800
36Jan 26, 201025.39+4.39Minor27,800
37Feb 7, 200425.25+4.25Minor28,255
38Mar 24, 195224.91+3.91Minor28,100
39Apr 14, 202024.88+3.88Minor27,000
40Nov 20, 195724.76+3.76Minor27,900
41Jan 26, 200224.75+3.75Minor—
42Apr 16, 199424.70+3.70Minor—
43Mar 24, 199124.69+3.69Minor27,300
44Mar 2, 202124.64+3.64Minor26,669
45Dec 2, 201024.60+3.60Minor26,600
46Jan 5, 198224.58+3.58Minor27,000
47Mar 22, 198024.56+3.56Minor26,800
48Mar 27, 196524.53+3.53Minor27,500
49Mar 18, 196324.36+3.36Minor27,100
50Dec 27, 197324.26+3.26Minor26,400

The worst floods along the Cumberland River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Cumberland River that crested above flood stage within a week.

April 7, 1977: 35.03 ft here, major flooding

  • PinevilleKY · Apr 5, 1977 · 1,021.80 ft · Major · its highest
  • BarbourvilleKY · Apr 6, 1977 · 45.91 ft · Major · its highest
  • BaxterKY · Apr 4, 1977 · 34.20 ft · Major · its highest

February 8, 2020: 35.02 ft here, major flooding

  • PinevilleKY · Feb 7, 2020 · 1,019.06 ft · Major
  • BarbourvilleKY · Feb 7, 2020 · 40.01 ft · Major
  • BaxterKY · Feb 6, 2020 · 26.00 ft · Major

March 15, 1975: 34.54 ft here, major flooding

  • ClarksvilleTN · Mar 14, 1975 · 57.10 ft · Major
  • CarthageTN · Mar 14, 1975 · 47.95 ft · Major
  • NashvilleTN · Mar 15, 1975 · 47.64 ft · Major
  • BarbourvilleKY · Mar 14, 1975 · 41.60 ft · Major
  • BaxterKY · Mar 12, 1975 · 17.80 ft · Minor

Gauges on the Cumberland River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Cumberland River
Ashland CityTN28.028.66 ft, Feb 24, 20190
BarbourvilleKY27.045.91 ft, Apr 6, 197715
BaxterKY16.034.20 ft, Apr 4, 197717
BurkesvilleKY46.056.60 ft, Feb 28, 20190
CarthageTN40.059.80 ft, Dec 30, 19268
CelinaTN40.059.20 ft, Mar 1, 182610
ClarksvilleTN46.062.58 ft, May 4, 20105
DoverTN66.074.17 ft, May 5, 20102
EdenwoldTN49.050.70 ft, Feb 24, 20190
Hunters PointTN52.053.66 ft, Mar 6, 19890
NashvilleTN40.056.20 ft, Jan 1, 192722
OmohundroTN41.044.69 ft, Feb 24, 20190
PinevilleKY1,002.01,021.80 ft, Apr 5, 19772
Williamsburg this gaugeKY21.035.03 ft, Apr 7, 19774
HermitageTN48.049.11 ft, Feb 24, 20190
Penington BendTN47.048.83 ft, Feb 24, 20190

Whitley County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Kentucky

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge WLBK2, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.